PSA To Return To US Market By 2026, Opel Will Be Integral Part To Return

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After decades of work with General Motors, PSA Groupe has asked Opel engineers to return to their roots. The French automaker has tasked Opel with making its next-generation products U.S. compliant for a return to the market.

PSA CEO Carlos Tavares told Automotive News in an interview published on Thursday that work began on future U.S. products months ago, but the work has been “boosted” with help from Opel engineers who spent decades working for GM—the same engineers who’ve homologated European cars for the United States under GM. Tavares wants a PSA brand back in the U.S. by 2026.

“For us, it’s a great opportunity to merge their skills and their expertise to prepare the cars for the U.S. market,” Tavares said.

However, it’s unclear if Opel will be the brand chosen to lead PSA’s reintroduction to the U.S. The automaker will research the consumer market to decide which brand will lead the return.

PSA also brought on numerous executives to lead its return to the U.S., including Ben Winter, who formerly worked for Ford and Fiat-Chrysler. Winter will work with Opel’s engineers for the future American vehicles.

Remember that Tavares enjoys out performing his goals as we saw with the PSA turn around. He doesn’t just want back in the game but wants to dominate the game.
PSA has a bright future if managed properly. I hope they go it alone because an FCA merger would kill any quality.

Presumably that’s why he’s passing over the project to the Germans! Albeit in fairness, whilst I can’t assess reliability, having driven a Peugeot 5008 recently I was mightily impressed by fit and finish quality. Certainly much better than I’ve learnt to expect from a French car.

Traverses has upped PSA quality. The addition of Russelheim, location responsible for some of GMs best models such as 09 Malibu and first generation Regal will create a new high quality America savvy rival.
Opel brand will carry no negative baggage in the US and will be an interesting new European option for American buyers. Opel will also provide coat tails for other PSA brands into the US so that multiple price point segments can be addressed.
GM one day may regret the Opel/Vauxhall sale.